The Kensington Runestone, thought by some to be a medieval artifact placed in the heartland of America at the north-south continental divide as a land claim by 14th century Scandinavian explorers, has sparked controversy, curiosity, skepticism, speculation and scientific study for more than a century.

What it also should generate, according to Atkins, a small business owner and chairman of the House Commerce Committee, is greater tourism and heightened interest in state history, immigration, geology, archaeology and legend.

“Whether or not one believes the stone’s runic message about a medieval Norse journey far predating Christopher Columbus, its lore is part of our state’s colorful history,” he said. “It’s thoroughly Minnesotan and its discovery site deserves official state recognition.”

Farmer and Swedish immigrant Olof Olsson Ohman found the Kensington Runestone in 1898 while clearing his land in rural Solem Township. The discovery site is the 193-acre Kensington Runestone Park, a Douglas County Park, and the homestead farm of the Ohman family. The historic site designation will complement the existing Runestone Museum in downtown Alexandria; it will not replace or displace it, Atkins said.

Al Edenloff is the news and opinion page editor for the Echo Press. He was born in Alexandria and lived most of his childhood in Parkers Prairie. He graduated with honors from Moorhead State University with a degree in mass communications, print journalism. He interned at the Echo Press in the summer of 1983 and was hired a year later as a sports reporter. He also worked as a news reporter/photographer. Al is a four-time winner of the Minnesota Newspaper Association's Herman Roe Award, which honors excellence in editorial writing.